A day with Instant Luxe + Panoply inside Galeries Lafayette

This week I have a lot to share about getting all fancied up in Paris on a budget but with impeccable style. So happy to share that you can buy and now also rent luxury evening gowns and accessories inside Galeries Lafayette!

Instantluxe – buying and renting bags

How often do you wish you could have that “it-bag” for your special occasion to go along with your evening gown or that very important interview where you need to dress to impress?

But not many of us want to break the bank to look great!

Recently I discovered that inside the Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette you can rent luxury handbags from Instant Luxe, a corner on the 2nd floor where you can rent a designer bag for a fraction of what you’d pay in-store or new. Another benefit here is that you can rest assured the bags look amazing and are certified real designer pieces.

Now if you’re like me, I have a go-to handbag for everyday use or even a second tote bag ( mommy style – I either always need to go grocery shopping or I need to be lugging around kid after school activities stuff in the 2nd one!)

As stylish as I am, I’ve somewhat given up on the idea of having a designer bag for my everyday life. But I also go to a lot of fancy events (hey I plan a lot of weddings!) and I also need some fresh pieces for those nights out when my dress is simply too stunning for a tote.

Instantluxe is perfect for this.

I had the chance to speak with the team as the explained the concept, and their story is an inspiration in the luxury fashion industry if you’re an entrepreneur you know how hard it is to break in. They’ve really focused on creating a solution to luxe accessories our needs – as in addition to leather goods they also offer jewellery and watches. Started in 2009 and then acquired by the Galeries Lafayette group in 2016.

After picking the brain of the founder I was curious why there were no shoes!

Well as it turns out – they are less hygienic overtime and too easily destroyed with wear.

They also had some bags from my favourite brand, Yves Saint Laurent

Like this one! (photo)

Some of the brands available:

Chanel

Hermes

Louis Vuitton

Celine

Balenciaga

How to rent from InstantLuxe:

You find your perfect “sac” inside Galeries Lafayette pop-up. But you must be living in France as you need to show your id card for the paperwork.

Want to sell a bag? You can do that too with Instantluxe!

Panoply, renting luxury dresses

So fancy my surprise to have found the dress of my life! Like this is on my bucket list (see the video!) because well look at the fit and colour of this Rochas dress on me.

I discovered it at Panoply – where you can rent dresses for the big occasions of your life.

Yes, ladies – that includes even dresses that can do double duty of wedding dresses.

Over the years via my wedding planning company Elope in Paris (insert link) I get asked about where to rent evening gowns or wedding dresses in Paris – and my one-word response (until now) was “don’t”

It was strainingly difficulty to find great style and good quality fitting for a wedding day like we are used to in the US, Canada or even the UK. But here we have Panoply coming to your and my rescue.

More about Panoly:

It allows you to basically rent your dream wardrobe.

Outside of the fact that you can wear some of the season hottest pieces for a fraction of the sale price by renting, you also get the peace of mind that you are helping the environment by being more responsible in your shopping or a reusable item.

You can rent inside the boutique at Galeries Lafayette for a period of 4 or 8 days.

If you’re already in Paris and have a last minute event to attend I’d highly recommend stopping by here.